The invention is based on a priority application EP03027600.0 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to the field of telecommunication, and more particularly to location based services.
Location based services focus on the problem of providing value-added services to subscribers based on the location of a wireless device within a wireless network.
According to one type of location based wireless service, subscribers obtain information on businesses located in the vicinity of the wireless device. As subscribers move throughout the wireless network with their wireless device, they may enter requests for location information related to particular types of businesses.
The requests for the location of the wireless device are processed in the Gateway Mobile Location Center or another network platform to determine the location area, cell identity with geographical coordinates or the like, of the requesting wireless device. The device location information is provided to a relational database that identifies businesses located within or near the location of the wireless device and provides the business location information to the wireless device. In some cases, the service provider may use information provided by the subscriber to provide the business location information to the device.
For example, a subscriber could specify certain preferred business, such as a preferred hotel chain. When the location request is received, the subscriber information is used to retrieve and provide information about the preferred hotels matching the subscriber's information.